Life and Times of Alfie Owens
by DSaint
Summary: After Rory Williams Pond fell to paradox and time, Alfie Owens led a fairly normal life: school, friends, girls, the usual. Then again, once one strange thing happens to you, you tend to attract more of them... especially when the Doctor is in. One of him is, anyway.
1. Part I: A Beautiful Day(te)

**Author's Note: People seemed to enjoy "The Mysterious Mr. Pond." My beta reader suggested I write more about the TMMP version of Alfie; so here he is.**

**It might help a little to have read the aforementioned story; it is not, however, probably strictly necessary.**

* * *

**Part I: A Beautiful Day(te)**

* * *

Alfie Owens took a deep breath. When he let it out, it frosted in the crisp autumn air. Alfie grinned. "Today," he said, "is a good day to be seventeen."

Not that all the other days he had been seventeen were not good days; today was a very good day, though.

"What's so good about today?" Gareth asked.

Alfie grinned at his friend. "Because, my lad, today is the day that I asked out Sharon Tully, and she said yes."

Gareth's jaw dropped and he stared at Alfie. "Get out of town!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even know she was blind."

Alfie punched Gareth in the shoulder. "Wanker," he said.

Gareth mouthed a silent "ow" and rubbed his shoulder. "For a skinny lad," he said, "you don't half have an arm on you." He assuaged his pain by shoveling chips into his mouth. "Where you going to go?"

"Go?" Alfie gave him a blank look.

"On. The. Date?" Gareth explained.

Alfie leaned on the brick half-wall they hung out by and said, "Haven't thought about that..."

"Oy," Gareth said, and rolled his eyes. He dropped the paper that contained his fish and chips atop the wall. "Alfie, I realize you are not a man of the world such as myself—stop with the laughing—so I will give you the benefit of my years of experience with women."

Alfie got himself under control. Despite his laughter, Gareth really did seem to have a way with girls; he had a revolving coterie of girls who he maintained affections for. Somehow, he managed to keep them all blissful in their ignorance of each other. "And where do you suggest I take Sharon, oh great one?"

"Sharon. Hm. She's a proper girl."

"I've always thought of her that way," Alfie grinned.

"Fit." His eyebrows rose. "Athletic."

"Hey!" Alfie punched him in the shoulder again.

"Ow! Okay, okay... um, movie and pizza. Or, conversely, pizza and movie."

Alfie considered. "Kind of commonplace, isn't it?"

"Trust me. First date, you don't want to go too far. No farther than Guildford. Definitely not to Reading or Winchester."

"Gare," Alfie said with a laugh, "you, sir, are the dog's bollocks."

"Thank you." Gare picked up his food.

"Or perhaps you simply are a load of bollocks," Alfie said, "I'm not certain which."

* * *

"Mm… I love the pizza here."

"I'm glad." Alfie held a slice in one hand, his chin in the other. He had not managed, yet, to get his own pizza past the stupid grin on his face.

Sharon Tully tossed back blonde hair and took a bite of her double pepperoni pizza. Alfie watched in a stupor as the girl in the pink hoodie and tight blue jeans used her tongue to collect excess cheese from the end of the slice. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked, with a sideways look at Alfie.

"I'm glad," he said, with the same stupid grin.

"Alfie Owens!"

He straightened and dropped his pizza. "Huh? What?"

Sharon grinned at him. "Are you having trouble, Alfie?"

"Yes," Alfie said, "you're a bad girl and you keep distracting me."

She blushed and said, "Aw, Alfie, you say the sweetest things. You're so sensitive…"

Alfie reflected that the ability to cry on cue had served him well, over the years. "Yes," he said, with a sad look, "I've been through some things in my life, Sharon. They… changed me."

Sharon gave him an enthusiastic nod and took another bite of pizza. "I've always known you were different, Alfie. I don't care what Lew says."

Alfie blinked. "Lew? Lew who? Who Lew?"

She laughed. "Lew, Lewis, my older brother! You've met him. Down the shop."

"Right, Lew." Alfie considered. "Was he the big, scary one, or the huge, terrifying one?"

"You're so funny, Alfie. Lew is the big one. But he's not scary. He's sweet, he watches out for me."

And I'm sure every boy who has ever considered asking you out thought a lot about Sweet Lew, Alfie thought. I know I did. "What did Lew say?"

She grinned. "He says you're trouble. Says you got in a fix with UNIT, and weird things happen around you, and that your best mate, Gareth, is an article."

Alfie snorted. "I like that," he muttered. "Not to speak against your brother, Sharon, but exactly one-quarter to half of that statement is utter bollocks."

She burst into laughter. "Which parts, Alfie?" She smiled widely.

Alfie felt his heart thud a bit harder than usual. "I'm not trouble," he said, ticking the points off on his finger, "and weird things rarely happen around me." He shrugged. "The UNIT thing is old news." He considered the remaining piece of commentary. "Gare is a wanker, though, yeah. He comes up with some good ideas, though."

"Like what?" Sharon asked. Disbelief was visible in her green eyes.

"He suggested pizza and a movie," Alfie admitted.

She stared with her mouth open. "This is a _Gareth_ approved date?" She sounded horrified.

"Er. Yeah?" He offered her his best grin.

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay," she said with a shrug, then, "he gets points for that one." She went happily back to her pizza.

Later, done with the pizza, they discarded their trash and headed to the theater.

"I hear this movie is really great," Sharon said, "It's got gunfights and kung-fu and car chases and explosions…"

Alfie grinned. One hand was in the pocket of his windcheater, the other free, in case Sharon wanted to hold hands. It was a trick Gareth taught him. If they had their hand there, you could just sort of casually brush it, and… Alfie caught what she was saying. "Sharon," he said, "I'm going to say something, now, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but marry me."

She smiled at him and took his hand. "Not until I see a ring," she said. "I'm a proper girl."

"Not sure I can afford a ring," he said, "but I could maybe get you one of those candy ones at the shop."

She considered the thought. "It's a start," she said.

"You know," Alfie said, "this may be the best day of m…"

There was a grinding and wheezing noise. It sounded like some strange bellows going. A tall blue box flickered into existence before them. Then the light on top went dark.

"What?" Sharon asked in a flat voice. Her eyes were wide.

The door opened and a man strode out.

He was tall and slender, with long, dark wavy hair. His clothing reminded Alfie of the Victorian style he had seen in a film, once: deep gray trousers and waistcoat, shirt the same blue as the "Police Call Box," with a knotted, burnt orange cravat at the collar; overall was a long, green velvet coat. Alfie's eyes flicked to heeled boots, a watch chain at the waistcoat.

"Hello," the man said with a nod at the two of them. "I'm the Doctor; have we met?"

Then he collapsed onto the pavement.


	2. Part II: Run and Gun

**Author's Note: Like the eighth Doctor, "Nimrod" comes from a point in time before "Asylum of the Daleks" takes place.**

* * *

**Part II: Run and Gun**

* * *

"The phone is ringing," Sophie Owens said, and kissed her husband.

"Yeah," Craig Owens said. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

She pulled away from his efforts to return the kiss. "Answer it," she said.

"But it's probably a wrong number," Craig moaned, as he pursued her. She moved her head to avoid his puckered lips.

"It could be our son. Answer it."

"Naw, he's on a date. And we could be, too…" Craig trailed off and gave her a look.

"Craig Owens, quit raising your eyebrows at me and answer the phone." She smacked him on the shoulder.

Craig sighed and picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello? Alfie, what's going on? Are you in trouble?" His eyes went wide. "The Doctor? Where are you? I'll be right there." He saw Sophie put her jacket on and amended, "we'll be right there. Watch out for, I don't know, spaceship and cybermats."

* * *

"He's a friend of my mom and dad," Alfie said after he hung up his cellular. He felt for a pulse at the unconscious man's wrist. "Crap, I think he's dead; he's got no pulse."

"He's breathing. You're doing it wrong," said the girl with him. She knelt down by the collapsed man. "Let me; I did CPR certification." She took the wrist in gentle fingers. "Your parents have friends who appear in magic blue boxes?" She gave Alfie a speculative look.

"Well, he's an alien," Alfie said, "It's his spaceship."

"An alien." Sharon's expression assumed neutrality.

Alfie pointed at the man, in his elaborate, old-fashioned clothes. "Does that look human, to you?" he asked. "No one normal dresses that way. Maybe a hundred years ago."

"Yeah," Sharon said, "he's weird, all right. But he looks human." She tilted her head to regard the man. "Kind of cute, too."

"Hey," Alfie objected, "our date's not over, yet!" He paused. "It's not over yet, is it?"

Sharon offered him a sly, half-smile. "Not yet," she said.

"Whew." Alfie wiped imaginary sweat from his brow and she giggled.

"His pulse is kind of wild, but he seems okay. I think. I mean, if he is an alien, who can tell what his pulse is supposed to be like? He could have two hearts, for all I know."

A car pulled up at the kerb and Alfie's parents exited.

"Mum, dad." Alfie dashed over to them and hugged them each in turn. He pointed. "Sharon's checking his pulse. She thinks it's okay, but…"

Sophie stopped. "That's not the Doctor," she said, "his hair is shorter and darker, and he wears a tweed jacket."

"No, that's him," Craig confirmed. "I remember, when he transferred his memories to me that time; this is one of his old bodies. He must have bounced here earlier in his life. We just didn't meet him then. Now. Whatever."

Sharon looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, hi," Sophie said in a bright voice, "you must be Alfie's friend…"

"This is Sharon, mum," Alfie said, with a look that added, "Please don't break out the baby pictures." Aloud, he said, "Sharon, my mum and dad."

"Hello," the girl said.

Craig knelt by the body. "The Doctor is a time traveler, Sharon." He rapped on the door of the blue police box. "This is his machine, the Tardis."

Sharon's eyes widened. "This," she said, "is so. Much. Cooler. Than a movie would be."

The door, ajar, creaked open at Craig's pressure. Sharon moved her head to look inside and gasped. "It's huge in there!"

"Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey," Alfie said absently, "and some spacey-wacey, too." He caught all three staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Son," Craig said, "you were less than a year old when you met the Doctor. How do you know about all that?"

Alfie shrugged. He opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. His face looked twisted with sadness, and his mother stepped forward and put her arm around him. "What is it, sweetie?" she asked, worried.

He shrugged. "Mum, dad, I know you don't remember this… but the summer I was thirteen, I had a friend named Rory Pond. An old man."

Craig asked, "How come we never met him?"

"You did," Alfie said. "He ate dinner with us once or twice. He knew the Doctor." He took a deep breath. "But… he was a time paradox, and when he was erased from time and space, no one but me ever remembered he was here." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "He taught me a lot about time and space, though. And ancient Rome, and how to fight."

"I remember you got mixed up with UNIT, again, then," Sophie said, "but I can't remember why, for the life of me."

"That's why you can't remember; Rory and I busted up an alien who was trying to enslave the world with cola."

"Cola?" Sharon asked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Alfie said, "I kid you not. Alien cola with nanites in. Until Rory kicked his ar…" At his mother's look, he corrected, "uh, backside, and UNIT shoved him back through his space-time portal. It was awesome."

Craig nodded. "I wish we could remember that." He grinned. "It explains a lot, though. Like why you suddenly took up Latin and got good scores in history."

Sharon stared at all of them. "You just… I mean, how can these things really happen?"

Craig sighed and stood. "If you know the Doctor, you know weird things can happen. Come on, son. Help me take him into the Tardis."

They moved him inside.

"Is there a bed to put him on?" Sharon asked.

"Who knows?" Sophie said. "I'm not sure the Doctor sleeps. Even when he lodged with Craig, I don't think he slept."

Craig took off his jacket and rolled it into a ball. He lifted the Doctor's head and laid the bundle under for a cushion. "Not sure how to tell if he's all right or not," he said. "He has two hearts, but I don't know if one is for spare, or what?"

"Told you," Sharon said to Alfie.

He grinned. "Can we move the ship?" he asked his father.

Craig laughed. "I might have learned some stuff about the Doctor, son," he said, "but I don't know how to fly this thing. I think maybe we should just leave him inside. I don't think anyone will bother the box; most people don't seem to notice it." He led the way outside, and said, "If we lock the door, maybe he'll recover on…"

"At last I have found it," a voice grated. "The Tardis!" The metallic voice rose in pitch, excitable and whining on the ears. "I will destroy the Doctor!"

Across the street, a strange, lumbering machine stood on the pavement. It had a rounded top and a generally columnar shape, though the bottom half flared out. Mounted on one side was a rather battered Gatling machine gun. It was retrofitted with a sort of module.

"I will exterminate you, Doctor," the robotic interloper declared. "You cannot escape me, for I am Nimrod!"

The module issued a high-pitched whir and the barrels of the gun spun. The Owens family and Sharon scattered for cover as gunfire erupted from the barrels. "Not the car!" Craig yelled, "It's brand-new! It's a convertible!" Bullets spanged against the silver BMW and punched into the interior. "I hate you, alien robot!" Craig yelled.

Sophie was behind the Tardis, and yelled, "Keep your head down, Craig!"

"Where's Sharon?" Alfie asked. He saw the door of the Tardis pushed inward, and said, "I think she's still inside!" He dove for the box.

"Alfie," Craig yelled, "don't…"

Alfie disappeared inside the blue police box. The door slammed behind him.

* * *

"What's going on, Alfie?" Sharon asked. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know," Alfie said, "but it's pretty mad. And not just in an angry way, I don't think."

"What's that noise?"

It was the noise of the ship's arrival; in the middle of the control console, a column rose and fell while lights flared. "I think it's taking off," Alfie said. He rushed to the controls. "No, no, no, what are your doing, stupid?"

* * *

Outside, bullets pounded against the side of the Tardis. When the light atop it began to flash and the nose started, Craig said, "It's taking off."

"Alfie," Sophie shouted. She pounded on the side with her fist. "Alfie! He and Sharon are in there…"

The attacker glided toward them. "You shall not escape, Doctor." A port on its front opened and there was a hissing noise. A tiny object flashed across the distance and thunked onto the side of the time machine. As the Tardis faded from view, the thing declared, "Synchronizing vortex manipulator with tracking device. Activating vortex manipulator."

A moment later, the Tardis and the hunter were gone. Craig and Sophie sat on the pavement and held each other, worry on their faces.

"What do we do?" Sophie asked.


End file.
